Colorado is the twelfth state to designate a state pet (their state animal is the Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep), but the only one that did not give the honor to a purebred dog. The idea was proposed by students as a part of a project to teach them about the legislative process (very cool!). If you can believe it, the bill did not pass without controversy. Lobbyists for purebred dogs and pet stores opposed the state pet, and one person even testified that the bill discriminated against birds and reptiles.

The canine behavior training for police was created in response to high-profile cases of cops shooting dogs and is thought to be the first of it's kind across the country. Despite being introduced in what has been a combative legislative term, all 100 lawmakers in the Colorado Legislature supported the bill. One of the sponsors, Republican Sen. David Balmer, said, "This is a bipartisan day for dogs."

I think Colorado just went up in the rankings for most dog friendly state!